On an early fall night in 2017, my friends at the University of Michigan and I attended Hillel Auditorium for the high holidays. We walked out after hearing director Tilly Shame’s sermon, reflecting on the many ways social media and technology have consumed our lives. As seniors in college, we unfortunately witness and take part in an unhealthy amount of technology behavior every single day. However, Tilly’s speech sparked us to admit a certain hatred we felt towards technology, and the addictive behavior it has over us.

 

 

 

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We continued to joke about how our parents were probably more independent and intelligent than us, but the conversation shortly switched to a more serious tone when we realized the truth and sadness behind these statements.  

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I went to bed that night extremely frustrated. Frustrated at the fact that my friends and I talk and talk about how we have turned into zombies to our technology, but never actually do anything about it. In fact, this night was not the first time this conversation topic has come up. I find myself discussing the issue of technology often with those around me. Whether it is questioning why we scroll through our Facebook feeds in the library when we should be studying, why we spend an unhealthy amount of time editing our Instagram photos, why we have FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) more often then not, or why we binge watch an entire season of a series in one sitting, these problems have been in the back of my head for a long time now.

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To make matters worse, I was raised in a family where the importance of looking up, putting your technology down, and living in the present moment was always stressed. My father lives and breathes by the motto “Seize the Day”. He wakes up every morning with the mindset that today can be the best day of his life, and is constantly emphasizing to my siblings and I that technology prevents us from actually living. Although him and my mom were not overly strict about setting rules for our devices growing up, the need to use them less was communicated regularly. Boundaries were even set in stone at the beginning of family vacations to limit our technology use. On these family trips, I almost always realized that I was noticeably happier without having my phone attached to me like an accessory for 24 hours a day. In a way, I felt free. I did not feel pressure to be up to date with what everyone else was doing on their vacations, I did not feel pressure to be posting about what I was doing all of the time, but instead, I could just enjoy. Enjoy my experiences for the pure satisfaction of them and not for the purpose of showing them off to the world.

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Still lying in bed unable to sleep over all of this, I thought to myself “If I know that disconnecting on vacation brings me this much pleasure, then why don’t I do it more often?” This was the moment my frustration turned to motivation. I felt fed up with the perpetual chitchat on this issue, yet lack of action that has occurred. I felt sickened at the social acceptance for this addictive behavior to be considered the norm. I felt drained in my thoughts and did not want to think about this for one more second. I know that everyday cannot be as joyful as a vacation, but this was the moment I became determined to try.

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The following morning, my attempt began with an email. My dad had often spoken about his partners guitar teacher (Steve Bloom) who lives the majority of his life technology free, so I figured what better way to start than hearing from someone experienced on this matter. After a handful of back and forth emails, I found a time to talk with Steve on the phone. As you can see from my interview with him on the previous page, he leads an inspiring life and is extremely educated and passionate about technology addiction.

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following my phone call with Steve, I was even more motivated than before. Hearing the anger in his voice when speaking about this topic encouraged me to want to do something about my addiction right there and then. So I began to make a list. A list of all of the ways my habits with technology differed on vacations compared to everyday life. A list of times and ways to use technology less. This list soon evolved into something even more valuable: The 15 Challenges to disCONNECT. I proposed 15 specific changes I wanted to make in my life in regards to technology. Not permanent changes, but rather daily tasks to complete in the hopes of wanting to implement them routinely. And that hope certainly became my reality after accomplishing all 15 tasks. To avoid procrastination, I gave myself a 15-day deadline, therefore one challenge a day. At the end of each day, I wrote down something in a journal about my experience with the challenge. Reflecting on each day is ultimately what caused me to want to repeat these "challenges" again and again. I noticed an immense difference in my happiness from almost every single task.

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Overwhelmed with the liberation I felt from this experience, I was eager to put my friends to the challenge next. When they reacted with the same feeling, I knew I had to share this challenge with a larger community. This experiment taught me the impact that insight from someone your own age can have on others. My friends reacted to my challenge with such interest and excitement, because it was advice given from someone other than an older figure who cannot relate to growing up in our tech driven society. As a millennial, I understand the frustration of being lectured to by an adult about our addictive behavior. I understand the annoyance of having to explain what a Snapchat is and the feeling of being judged by adults for constantly taking selfies in public. By sharing my challenge, I hope to teach others, millennial to millennial, a feasible way to let go and lead the best life possible.

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When meditating ways to get my challenge out in the world, I came to the conclusion that creating a website around it would be the most effective option. Is it ironic that I have used technology to convey the message that we should use technology less? Yes. But I chose this medium to emphasize the fact that technology is not necessarily ALL bad. It has improved our world in many ways and is not going anywhere, which is why is it important that we find a balance between incorporating it in our lives and not letting it take over our lives. So how do we do that?

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New York Times personal health columnist Jane E. Brody wrote in his article Hooked on Our Smartphones,

 

“As with much else in life, moderation in our digital world should be the hallmark of a healthy relationship with technology”.

 

And that is exactly the kind of relationship my 15-day Challenge will teach you to have.  

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